Dear Spartan: Welcome to the School of Criminal Justice e-News, our online networking and informational newsletter for our faculty, alumni, students and friends. In addition to enjoying our newsletter, we invite you to visit online to stay updated about the School's alumni, academic and certificate programs, research and professional development opportunities. While you are browsing our School web page, don't forget to visit our online store, video spotlight and our graduate and undergraduate scholarship sites.
Summer is a wonderful time in East Lansing. The weather is terrific and campus is beautiful. Those unfamiliar with a major research university are often under the impression that life slows down. Although it is true that East Lansing street traffic usually does thin out a bit in the summer, the faculty and staff in the School of Criminal Justice continue on as hectic a pace as ever. Indeed, for faculty the summer represents the time to get caught up on research activity and prepare for next year's teaching.
Here in East Lansing, one class of the MSU School of Staff and Command ended and another one began. A number of summer courses were offered and Jeff Gruenwald successfully defended his doctoral dissertation under the direction of Professor Steve Chermak. Jeff has accepted a faculty position at Florida International in Miami. All the while faculty were conducting their research, sending articles for review, and submitting research proposals. Finally, a number of School personnel dealt with the stress of moving offices as we had the Emergency Response Solutions team move to Nisbet Hall and a number of our outreach team move to Baker Hall. Although a major inconvenience for those involved, the move also allowed us to renovate in a way that will allow the opening of the Open Source Research Laboratory under the direction of Assistant Professor Tom Holt. Details on these activities as well as may other developments are provided in the pages that follow. Enjoy the rest of the summer! Photo: Left to Right, Scott Swanson, Nur Jaypha Bacaraman, and Chris Maxwell, Ph.D. Spotlight American Society of Criminology The School is hosting a reception at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting at the Marriott downtown hotel in Philadelphia on Thursday, November 5, 2009 from 7-9 PM in the Grand Ballroom, Salon D. Please stop by and join us if you are attending the Annual Meeting or are in the Philadelphia area.
Christina Malone, Forensic Science Masters student won the J. Lawrence Angel Prize for best student paper in the Anthropology Section of the 2009 American Academy of Forensic Sciences annual meeting in Denver. Building Relationships with Australian Law Enforcement Leaders Associate Professor and Associate Director of Research, Jeremy Wilson, had an opportunity to travel to Australia where he met with Representative Chris Hayes, Government Whip of the Australian Parliament, and Mark Burgess, Chief Executive Officer of the Police Federation of Australia to share with them our efforts in anti-counterfeiting and policing. He also spent time briefing and interacting with the executive staffs of the Australian Crime Commission, the Queensland Police, and the Victoria Police. The Australian Research Council's Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security hosted Jeremy. Headquartered at Griffith University, he gave seminars to researchers and students at the Australian National University. Jeremy is hopeful that additional partnerships will follow from his visit. We ask that you join us as we begin our fall '09 semester of continued excellence by taking a moment to visit our secure giving pages: Dae Chang Endowment, Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarships or Graduate Program Giving.
School of Staff and Command On June 5, 2009, the above seventeen Michigan law enforcement command officers graduated from the second Michigan State University School of Staff and Command. The third School of Staff and Command just completed a week at MSU W. F. Kellogg Biological Station Conference Center at Gull Lake and runs through December 11, 2009. Applications are currently being accepted for the February - August 2010 School. To learn more about the School>> Alumni Alumni Association Board President Update I trust that this finds all of you enjoying this great, but unseasonably cool summer of '09 for those of you in Michigan and everyone is looking forward to a successful Spartan Football '09 campaign and visions of Rose Bowl '10. We've had a great deal on our plate since the last Alumni Association board meeting on April 18, 2009 and include a myriad of topics and projects: East Lansing Police Officers Travis Bove and Adrian Ojerio, two fellow MSU student and East Lansing Police Department work cohorts of Oak Park, Michigan Police Officer Mason Samborski (killed in the line of duty on December 28, 2008) attended the board meeting urging the board to move forward with the Wall of Remembrance. A task force including Vice-President, Mike Thompson and members Bill Nash and Shawn Rowley is anchoring this effort. Mike and Bill hammered out a draft proposal to assist the University and the staff at the MSU Chapel (a possible location for the memorial) to clearly see the full scope of our efforts to recognize and memorialize Spartans who have died in the line of criminal justice service. Meanwhile, Shawn Rowley has been hard at work to make contact with the folks at the Officer Down Memorial web site and the National Law Enforcement Memorial Foundation to obtain computerized listings of law enforcement and corrections personnel killed in the line of duty. It is our hope to consolidate a data base that we can compare to the University's student information in order to identify MSU alum that have died in the line of duty. This is an enormous undertaking and we need your assistance in identifying Spartans for this dedicated memorial by contacting, Shawn Rowley. We would be most grateful for any and all input and your assistance in making this over-due memorial a reality on the Michigan State University campus. Next steps will be to get University approval to establish a dedicated fund and solicit donations for the construction and maintenance of an appropriate memorial. Your alumni board will be staffing the School's table in the College of Social Science homecoming tent, Saturday, October 17th, pre-Northwestern University Mildcat game day festivities. Please stop by the tent for a visit and refreshments. We will also be able to facilitate your MSUAA membership and/or renewal on site! Please mark your calendar and join us for the 2009 Wall of Fame Induction ceremony beginning at 6 PM on Friday, October 23rd at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center. This year's inductees are, Noel Bufe, Robert Engel, Knowlton Johnson, Richard Myers and Charles Rinkevich. Distinguished Faculty Award The SCJAA board in partnership with the School's faculty established a Distinguished Faculty award that will be given each year during the Wall of Fame ceremony. Look for details in the upcoming fall edition of the e-News. My travels across the United States as a law enforcement consultant periodically afford me an opportunity to network with our alums. June of this year I had the opportunity to dine with SCJAA board member Paul Sparks and alum Steven Edwards in Alexandria, VA. Steven is a Senior Law Enforcement Policy Advisor at the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice and kept us speechless with his stories of coming to MSU to play football for Duffy Daugherty and ending up as a Spartan icer with Coach Amo Bassone. I have no doubt that both of these gentlemen would be welcomed along the current football offensive line by Coach Mark Dantonio! With the very best wishes - SPARTY ON! Member Highlight
Eric Letzgus, '02 is employed by the Customs and Border Protection, Office of Air and Marine at the Air and Marine Operations Center in Riverside, CA. He has recently been selected by the Department of Homeland Security to attend the U.S. Navy War College in Newport, RI where he will earn his Masters in National Security and Strategic Studies. Great hearing from you Jeff and keep us updated!
Ken Christian, BS '59, MS '70, Ph.D '76
Dr. Ken Christian served his country in the United States Army as a Field Intelligence Chief with the Helicopter Airborne Assault Force. After his service with the army, he returned home to become a student at Michigan State University's Police Administration and Public Safety program where he graduated with honors in 1959. After earning his bachelor's degree, Dr. Christian became an Assistant Supervisor with the Minnesota Enforcement Training Division where he developed training curriculum for more than 5000 city, county and state law enforcement officers. The holidays are not that far away so shop our great store online for that special CJ Spartan.
We look forward to hearing from you!
|
This summer witnessed considerable international work. Dr. Maureen Conner, Director of the Judicial Administration Program, spent time in Abu Dhabi where there is considerable interest in having the MSU Program work with the Judicial Department on a mentoring program to build capacity for continual improvement within the judicial system. Associate Professor and Associate Director for Research, Jeremy Wilson, traveled to Australia as a visiting scholar at the Research Council's Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security (CEPS). Wilson established both personal and school connections to promote research opportunities for faculty and students and CEPS. A team of faculty traveled to the Philippines as part of the State Department sponsored exchange program on Rule of Law and Governance. Led by Principal Investigator and Associate Professor Sheila Maxwell, the MSU delegation included Assistant Professors Carole Gibbs and Louie Rivers, Associate Dean for Research Chris Maxwell, and myself. We were accompanied by two law enforcement professionals: Daniel Horgan, Assistant Director of the Criminal Investigations Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Scott Swanson, retired Deputy Chief from the Santa Rosa, California, police department. Horgan and Swanson were able to complement the faculty research perspectives with their extensive experience at the local and federal levels of government.
Brit Weber, Director of Critical Incident Protocol (CIP) was recognized by Deidrich Towne, Chairman of Private-Public Business Inc. for the School's leadership in helping government, business, and non-profit organizations across the nation enhance safety and security. 
Thomas Holt, Ph.D, University of Missouri, Saint Louis, has joined the faulty as an Assistant Professor at the School of Criminal Justice. His areas of interests are computer/cybercrime, criminological theory, research methods, and gangs and juvenile justice. 
Greetings Fellow Spartans,
Meet the Honorable Thomas Brennan Jr. who served as a judge on the 55th District Court in Mason, Michigan from January 1981 through December 2004 and retired after twenty-six years of public service. He received his degree from the School of Criminal Justice in 1974 and a degree of Juris Doctor from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Tom currently serves as a member of the Alumni Association Board and Adjunct Professor for the School of Criminal Justice. 
Jeffrey Senese, Ph.D, '92 has changed his position from Vice President for Academic Affairs at Philadelphia University to Vice President for Academic Affairs at Johnson & Wales University, Providence, RI. Since it's founding in 1914, the Providence Campus has grown to become Johnson & Wales University's largest, with undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. 
The School of Criminal Justice has recently lost two dear friends, Ken and Ellen (Ellie) Christian. 
Send in your “Class Notes” for future publications to If you feel you have received the email in error or would like to be removed from this mailing please contact
Candy Curtis with "eNEWS OPT-OUT" in the subject line.
Michigan State University • School of Criminal Justice • 560 Baker Hall • East Lansing, MI 48824